


a ghost in the old keep

by orphan_account



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Mentions of Torrhen Stark, Pre-Series, Spoilers for Book: The World of Ice and Fire, ghost story, i dont even know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-26 04:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12548840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Who are you?" Brandon asks, standing in front of Ned, almost instinctively, in an attempt to protect his brother.Brandon and Ned are looking for a lost kitten when they end up lost in the abandoned parts of Winterfell.





	a ghost in the old keep

"Brandon, why did you have to lose the kitten?" Ned asks, sighing. "The kennel master won't be at all pleased." 

  

Brandon laughs, ever casual. "He's never pleased - like you. Now, Ned, help me find this kitten and I'll do anything you want, I promise." 

 

"You said that last time," Ned tells him, "and I've still no gotten what I asked for."

 

There were times where Brandon wished to be an only child - this was one of those times. "What did you ask for exactly?" He had forgotten, of course, but Ned needn't know that. 

 

Ned just shakes his head. "You've forgotten, haven't you? Well, I asked if I could go a ride with you -" 

 

 _Little brothers_ , Brandon moans. "Ned, when I ride I like being either alone or with my friends. There's plenty of other things I can do with you."

 

His brother has that sad look again. "It was only, well...so I can spend time with you before I go to the Eyrie."

 

Well, now Brandon is sad. As much as Ned annoys him sometimes - go could he not be bothered why all Ned speaks about is rules and father says this and father says that - but he doesn't want Ned to go off to the Eyrie.

 

Lyanna is barely five and Benjen little more than a babe...Ned perhaps isn't Brandon's best friend but he was his first ever friend - not that he'll tell Ned that. 

 

"Alright then. You can ride with me to the Wall if it'll stop your whining. Just help me find this cat." 

 

Ned nods, "Alright." And they keep on looking. For near on half on hour, Brandon thinks.

 

Then he sees it. A glint of orange - the kitten! "Ned, look!" Brandon rushed towards it. He's just about to get into his arms when it shrieks and runs away. 

 

They run after it and stop at an old entrance - even Brandon knows you shouldn't go this far into the old parts of the castle - but he doesn't stop, pulling Ned with him.

 

Somehow, they end up lost - in the very old, very abandoned parts of the castle.

 

" _Gods_ ," Brandon mutters, looking around trying to see if he can figure out which way to go. "I almost had it."

 

"I was going to tell you before you ran - jumping at it will scare it."

 

Brandon groans, "Couldn't have said that before it ran to the deserted parts of the castle?" 

 

"Well," Ned says, clearly quite fed up now. "Perhaps you shouldn't have leaped over to the poor thing - and maybe you shouldn't have lost it in the first place!" 

 

"Shut it, Ned! You're just jealous that I got the cat and not you!" 

 

Ned shakes his head, "I am not!" 

 

"Oh, no you're jealous because you're getting packed off to the Eyrie and I get to stay here with father and Lya and Ben!" Brandon argues. Well...even _he_ knows that was perhaps a little too far - he knows how nervous Ned has been about leaving.

 

He sees tears in Ned's eyes and feels bad. 

 

"Ned...I'm sorry. For what I said and for getting us lost in here..." 

 

"It doesn't matter, does it? Because I'll be gone soon and you'll likely forget about me. Lyanna will not even remember she has _two_ older brothers and Benjen won't ever have known me properly. You'll stay here with father and be able to visit mother every day in the crypts and I'll be off in some cold mountain alone!" 

 

It's quite clear to Brandon that Ned has been wanting to say this for a while now. Ned acts the dutiful son but no one can really reach their fathers terribly high standards, can they? Especially not an eight year old boy who is scared to leave home.

 

Brandon hugs Ned and if his brother is confused he doesn't show it. He doesn't know how long they are hugging but suddenly they hear a voice - a man's voice. "What are you two doing here?"

 

When he turns to look at the man he doesn't expect to see a very pale, almost transparent man, who looks very much like father - except this man's beard isn't so long and his eyes are angrier than father's have ever been - even when he gets very angry with Brandon. 

  

"Who are you?" Brandon asks, standing in front of Ned, almost instinctively, in an attempt to protect his brother.This man might look like their father, like them, but why would any good man - any Stark man - be hiding out here, scaring Lord Stark's sons?

 

"Me?" The man laughs, "Who are you?" 

 

Seeing no reason to argue, Brandon says, "My name is Brandon Stark and I'm the heir to Winterfell, and the North. This is my brother, Eddard, and we have another brother named Benjen and a sister, Lyanna. Our father is Lord Rickard Stark, Lord of Winterfell. "

 

"- and Warden of the North," Ned adds. 

 

"The Lord Stark is who? Rickard? I know no Stark with such a name!" The man shouts, oddly angry at their father's name. 

 

Brandon tries to calm the man down. "What is your name?" 

 

"Same as yours," he says and Brandon cannot tell if the man is happy about it or not. "Brandon. Except you're name is Stark, mine is Snow."

 

"Ah," Brandon says, understanding. "You're a bastard?"

 

"Don't be rude," Ned mutters from behind him. He moves forwards, towards the man - Brandon Snow, his name is. "Are you Brandon Snow, brother of Torrhen?" 

 

Brandon Snow doesn't seem at all happy with what Ned said - he looks quite angry, actually. Brandon isn't sure what Ned said that was so rude. "King Torrhen! My brother was king, whether he bent to the blasted dragons or not! He still ruled like a king after those incestuous beast riders went back South - all that had changed was that he wore no crown. Men still called him king!"

 

 _Alright then,_ Brandon thinks. Brandon Snow is clearly a supporter of his brother. "Why did he kneel?" Brandon asks. He's certain he learnt it in his lessons, he just cannot remember it. 

 

"Because he didn't want his men to die," Ned answers before Brandon Snow can. "He saw what happened to those that fought against Aegon and his dragons before and did not wish to have his men die for nothing."

 

"Exactly," Brandon Snow says, and he even looks a little happy. "Torrhen was smart. Smarter than those dragon riders who named themselves kings. Do they still rule?" 

 

"Yes," Brandon tells him, "but they don't have dragons anymore. They all killed each other in some war -" 

 

"- the dance of the dragons, it's called. A civil war between siblings who both wished to sit the Iron Throne," Ned finishes. 

 

Brandon Snow nods, looking grim once again. "They shan't rule forever...one day, soon I think, the dragons will fall. Well, I shall ask again - what are you two doing here?" 

 

"We're looking for a cat, we - no, _I_ lost it. It's small and orange, have you seen it?" Brandon asks the other Brandon. _How odd it is to meet a man who shares your name_ , he thinks.

 

"I have not -" he says but is cut off when they hear as shriek and see the cursed kitten run through. Brandon Snow picks it up easily and it doesn't even attempt to scratch him! "Nevermind, here." 

 

The kitten is dumped into Ned's arms. They all stand in silence. "Well," Brandon begins, "I suppose we best go before Nan comes to find us. Thank you...for helping us find the kitten."

 

"I hardly helped at all," Brandon Snow tells them. "I must ask one thing of the two of you...don't kneel to the dragons - fight them if you should ever get the chance, for me and my brother.

 

"We shall," Brandon tells him though he doesn't know when he'll ever see a dragon, a Targaryen, and he definitely doesn't know if or when he shall have a chance to fight one!

 

"Yes," Ned nods, looking confused - they did just see...well, a ghost. "We shall." 

 

Brandon Snow nods and he doesn't walk away. No, he floats, right through an old door! When he is gone, Brandon and Ned look at from one another, to the kitten in Ned's arns, to the door Brandon Snow floated through. They run.

  

They run and run together and don't stop until they are at the main area of the castle, past many confused maids and then they run past even more confused stable boys. Soon enough they are at the kennels and Brandon takes the kitten from Ned and practically throws it in the cage.

 

"You've caused us some trouble," he says to the kitten, "I hope you're pleased!" 

 

Ned shakes his head, clearly still shocked. Brandon is too...in the moment it seemed normal but, well, it was anything but normal. They spoke to a ghost. 

 

"That was odd," Brandon says and Ned nods.

 

"Indeed," his little brother says, leaning back against one of the walls. "Very odd." 

 

(Their father finds them there hours later, and for once they were not arguing - Lord Rickard is rather confused, to say the least.) 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This story was semi-inspired by [this work by ariel2me.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2453936)


End file.
